Pages

Sunday, March 29, 2015

BROWN GIRL DREAMING is even better than they said

When I picked up Jacqueline Woodson's BROWN GIRL DREAMING at the library I was apprehensive. I don't always love the things that the larger book world loves including many National Book Award winners. I decided to give it a go anyway and I'm so glad I did.

Woodson uses stunning free verse to take us on a journey, to help us bear witness to a life. I don't think of this book as a story in the traditional sense. It is an experience. The milestones, the family, the religion, the race, the time period. All these things so vivid in her poetry that I feel as though I know her neighborhood, her family, her friends. I could feel the heat of south and hear the rush of the NYC.

When I read a book, I generally walk away with a few big ideas or themes. For this book, that idea was identity. What makes us who we are, and how people, ideas, and places shape our development. I finished the book and I felt more attuned to the world around me and to myself.

My only complaint about this book was that I could'e kept reading. I wanted more of the story. I wanted the next chapter of Woodson's life told in aching poetry that awakes my head and heart together.